Wow
by sunshower cement
Summary: She didn't expect the outcome of the final battle, and neither did he. However, it's 500 years later and they both have a lot of catching up to do. CU divergence.
1. Prologue

**Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.**

* * *

Birds chirped and the sun broke through the trees onto the group of warriors, all tired and amazed at their intact bodies. The early morning light caused the orb in a raven haired girl's palms to glow brighter, half from purification, and half from anticipation.

She closed her eyes, grasping it so that the light shone through the cracks her fingers created.

 _I wish the jewel disappeared from existence._

She felt her eyelids grow heavy-

-and then a hand nudging her shoulder. She blinked, seeing a darkened hut from a sideways angle. A dim orange light flashing against the enclosure's walls.

"Kagome! Wake up! You'll miss the celebration!"

She blinked more, feeling the weight of her body against a futon. "Wha..?"

Sango's face appeared from around her shoulder. "Their having a festival in honor of the battle!"

* * *

Kagome was glad she always over packed. She was also thankful that one of the group members had put her yellow backpack next to her. She pulled out the baby wipes and began cleansing herself of all the dirt and grime that had managed to stick to her. Sango stood watch in the doorway with a fresh yukata and a smile, and after completing the look by tying her hair in a bun, Kagome took to the slayer's side as she walked out the door and onto the dirt pathway towards the Goshinboku. "Sango…?"

The tree looked like it was bathed in sunset from all of the lanterns fixed around it, and a large fire raged not 20 meters away, with people dancing joyously as what little bards the village had played.

She spied Inuyasha dancing merrily, and suddenly her heart felt light. Her friend had become her attachment to the world and she had become the one person who truly cared about him, but he seemed to be making new ones. Somewhere in the months leading up to the battle, they had settled their relationship and come out not as lovers, but as something that felt far more stable and far less emotionally taxing.

Rin and Shippo swung their arms around their heads and at each other in time to the music, and Miroku surprisingly gave only Sango's shoulder a squeeze with his new, unbound hand as she strolled up to him, grabbing the other hand and leading him closer to the throng of people.

Which left the stoic youkai in the corner, sipping from a cup in the corner like a proud wallflower at a high school dance. She strolled up to him, desperate to fix that.

"Miko," he nodded.

"Youkai," she answered in an attempt at his voice.

He raised an eyebrow past his bangs, slightly twisting the crescent moon marking on his forehead.

She giggled, and reached a hand out, feeling like sleep hadn't completely left her. Maybe this was a dream and she was still sleeping, though. "Dance with me?"

This time the other eyebrow joined its brother. "Miko, what-"

"Everyone else has a partner." Did she just cut him off? What was wrong with her? Why did she feel so bold? It was like the first step towards him gave her a high, and she just kept riding it.

He set his drink on the ground, hardly bending and looking regal as ever. "You are very daring tonight, miko."

She felt like grinning, and only now did she seem to begin controlling her actions. Instead, she smiled cautiously. "Well, I haven't died yet, but today feels like a day to push my luck." She blinked at her own words. Was she _flirting_? Did she actually say something like that aloud? Sure, she and Sesshoumaru had had conversations before after he had joined their rag tag group, but _flirting_? She felt her cheeks heat up.

He smirked, and her face heated further. However, he hadn't denied her wishes, and she wondered just how far she could take the new, far more courageous and flirtatious Kagome tonight.

* * *

The answer was too far.

She had fled the scene right after _it_ happened, like a girl that didn't want to be caught stealing cookies off the counter. He had simply watched from the bed of grass he laid on, his face instantly washing away any emotion and replacing it with his mask of indifference.

Her backpack was now on her back, with her shoulder aching, and she had just kept running; fueled by fear induced adrenaline as she ran towards the well, needing to find comfort and something to see that wasn't connected to him or the place where _it_ had just happened.

It was like she went from mature adult back to girl-child in seconds.

* * *

 **Yay short clips! I have been reading soooo much Sesskag and finally I was like, "I have an idea, I need to write it out." So bear with me, but I'll try to update this regularly and most chapters should be longer than this.**


	2. Chapter 1 - Stranger

She groaned as she lugged the bags up the shrine steps with her brother in tow. "Shouldn't you be the one doing this?" She asked through gritted teeth as she turned to see the teenager with the seven year old boy running up and down the stairs next to him. "Isn't it like, a code of a decent gentleman to help out a woman and carry her packages?"

He scooped up the boy next to him. "Oh look, I got one of them for you."

She rolled her eyes, but chuckled nonetheless. "Whatever, Souta."

Her brother held tighter as the boy wiggled around, black hair shaking back and forth and legs kicking like he was swimming through water. " _Uncle Souta! C'mon! Let me go_!"

Souta laughed. "Kid, you're in Tokyo right now. Try using Japanese."

A growl erupted from the child, and he pushed onto his relative's chest, springing forward and landing perfectly on the shrine steps a few paces up, then leaning over and sticking his tongue out.

"Hiroshi! Stop it right now!" his mother called from behind him as she reached the last step. Her own mother stood at the doorway with a broom, putting her hand to her mouth to cover the knowing smile.

The boy bounded up the steps toward his grandmother. "Obaa-san!" He had rarely seen this woman, and the last he could remember was three years ago outside of the airport. However, this was his own blood, and his mom spoke nothing but kind words about her, so he felt he could trust her.

* * *

Son and mother sat beneath the god tree with a blanket, staring out at the stone of the courtyard. The leaves of the Goshinboku rustled as the moonlight played against Hiroshi's dark hair, and Kagome fought the urge to constantly run her fingers through it. A breeze rolled through, and she wrapped the large comforter around them tighter.

"Why does this city smell so bad?" Hiroshi asked, turning to look at his mother from her lap. "There's pee and poop and it smells like when I walk behind the school bus but constantly!" He seemed to be in contemplation for a moment as Kagome thought of a way to answer that. "And I haven't seen any animal besides cats and dogs. How did Obaa-san make chicken tonight if there aren't any around us?"

Kagome sighed. He sounded so much like Inuyasha right now. She finally gave in and ruffled his hair. "You have no idea how lucky you are, Hiro. Most people here rarely see chickens or farm animals on actual farms. They just go to the grocery store like we do when Uncle Jim comes over and we want to make him a really nice meal."

"But where do they get the food, then?" His eyes were bright, almost cyan, and Kagome could see the concealment spell starting to fade.

"Hiro, give me your necklace."

The boy nodded, lowering his head and taking off the necklace with a 5 yen coin attached to it. When he lifted his head up, Kagome ran a finger across the stripe adorning each cheek. "Was it starting to show?"

She hugged him close, knowing that this had become a nightly ritual, and that he had rarely seen what he actually looked like. After all the parenting books she had read, he knew this was most likely extremely detrimental to his sense of self-worth. "I love you no matter what you look like, and Uncle Souta and Obaa-san do, too. Some people are just weird about people that don't look like them."

Hiro had learned enough about this by merely being Japanese and the way older people looked strangely at him when he spoke Japanese with his mother. "But then how did my dad look like this? Didn't he have _four_ stripes?"

Kagome clamped her hand around the coin while hugging her son, infusing her reiki into it. She could feel the flood of suppressed youki begin to rise from the boy as he snuggled closer.

"He did, but it was a different time. He probably has to do this, too. I'm sure that if I saw him today, I wouldn't even be able to recognize him."

 _If he wasn't already dead._

* * *

Kagome perused the bookstore, looking for a book on traditional Japanese farming. She had seen it up close, but never really asked the details of it. However, as someone with degrees in both history and environmental sustainability, and a co-owner of a small farm in the Northwestern United States, she had been slowly building up the idea of looking thoroughly into eastern farming techniques and incorporating them to gain a higher crop yield.

She took a step back and onto someone's foot.

"Oh no!" she cried. "I'm so sorry!"

The man stared at her for a moment, as if in shock, inhaled, then recomposed himself. "It's fine. Don't worry about it." He turned, and she saw a tag on his jacket- a card obviously for security clearance.

 _Samezuka Ichiro._

"Although," his mouth twitched into a smirk. "You could make it up to me by allowing me to take you to coffee after you find what you're looking for."

Kagome took in his appearance, wondering if she should just have a short date with this man or not. He had very angular bone structure, and would appear almost elfin like if not for the square jaw he sported. His hair was dark, leaning toward black, and long enough that all but his bangs were pulled into a short ponytail. His eyes twinkled and came out as an almost golds brown, but what took her was his almost eager face, as if he was trying to hide the emotion and failing terribly.

She somehow couldn't say no to that face. She smiled back at the man, realizing they might even be the same age. She hadn't gone out with someone as young as her since junior high.

* * *

Samezuka was brilliant, and they talked about their interests for so long that thee fading light was the only thing that had told her so much time had passed.

"Higurashi-san, may I have your number?" he asked, a slight blush tinting his cheeks at how forward he felt he was being. "You said you have a month, and with a city this large, I don't want to leave it up to fate to-"

He was interrupted by a laugh. "You can call me Kagome, Samezuka-san." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I hope you have international, or this may cost some money."

The man wanted to bite back what he was saying, but found he couldn't. "You would be worth it, Kagome-san"

She smiled, this time feeling her own cheeks begin to blush. "Then how would dinner tomorrow night sound?"

He opened his mouth to agree, then hesitated. "Actually, my uncle is in town, and he and I are spending the day going over plans for moving his company from Tokyo to Kyoto."

She nodded in understanding, and he looked to be scrambling for words. "But if you don't mind becoming my interruption so that I can leave, I would gladly go with you to whatever restaurant you would want."

"Oh, so you want to use me as a distraction?" she asked, and if not for the mischievous glint to her eyes, he would have felt he had hurt her feelings.

"I'll be distracted all day by my uncle when it comes to thinking about you, so I feel he can take the repercussions."

She laughed again, and the sound made Ichiro yearn for more. "I'll gladly help you, then," she stated, already happy to have met this man.

* * *

 **Thank you guys for the reviews and favs and follows! I'm honestly so grateful I almost cried. And if you're really confused, it's been 8ish years since Kagome went through the well, so I'll explain what happened between then and now soon!**


	3. Chapter 2 - Friend

It was their second full day in Tokyo and it was already hot enough that Kagome and Hiroshi had worn their lightest clothes, both in color and in weight. Kagome's white sun dress splayed around her knees and barely clung to her frame with thin, tie-together straps. Meanwhile, Hiroshi was gulping water on the steps leading up to the shrine. Visitors would pass, smiling at him in his yellow tank top and shorts that matched both the sky and his mother's eyes. He would grin back at them, waving, then go back to drinking water.

Kagome looked towards her mother as she swept the grounds. This was the woman who had not only graciously loaned Kagome back her old room for the remainder of the month, but also kept it as intact as the young woman had left it before she and her toddler son moved to an university in another country. The single, twin bed, however, had been given a partner.

"Hey, kiddo," she grinned at her son, then stopped as she noticed him wiggling around. "You gotta pee?"

He frowned. "What were you gonna say just now?"

She frowned back, noting his squirming and the amount of water he had just drank. "Go pee first." It wasn't as if she hadn't toilet trained him years before; he had a habit of just going wherever he felt like on the farm, something she and the farm's co-owner Teresa greatly admonished. She had faintly wondered if it was something all dog youkai had to control. Either way, he never felt he had to go to a toilet if there was fresh grass, and lucky for her, there was none close enough where he could just "whip it out" and go.

"Mom, c'mon. I know how to use the bathroom." He frowned deeper, his eyes taking on a judgmental quality that reminded her of his father after she had sat Inuyasha one too many times. "What're you gonna say? We already talked about how you and Uncle Souta are taking me to the aquarium today, remember?"

She felt color rise toward her cheeks. She barely remembered because she had been fretting about what to do with her hair and makeup to make Samezuka Ichiro unable to take his eyes off her.

"No," she answered. "That's not it. It's actually about after the aquarium." She began playing with her hair, twirling the longest strands- the ones that ended an inch or two below her shoulders. "I'm meeting someone after and I'll be back a little late."

The boy was quiet for a moment, then he spoke his thoughts aloud, voicing them without lifting his head as if the most important focal point was currently the next step from his feet. "Is it like... a date?"

Kagome reached out with a sigh, rubbing Hiroshi's back. "Yeah, but he's a nice guy, and if he tries anything, I'll use the pepper spray Uncle Jim got me for Christmas."

Maybe it was the mention of using pepper spray on a date, or maybe it was the idea of Christmas while it was August, but her son looked up with a lop-sided smirk reminiscent of his uncle.

Kagome rolled her eyes, embarrassed slightly at the fact that she even had pepper spray. She'd have to tell Teresa and that crazy old husband of hers what she thought of his _present_ for when she was selling at farmer's markets and "had too many guys hitting on her". " _This way, you don't need the bat I got you last year,_ " he had reasoned.

She laughed at the time, but now she was just carrying a tube of mace for no reason other than she was afraid if she tried to hide it, Hiroshi would sniff it out and accidentally use it on himself.

* * *

How she ever thought she would be able to do anything other than touch up some eye shadow was beyond her.

She ran home right after a solemn, almost disapproving look from Hiroshi, then double-checked to see if her deodorant was really something that lasted 24 hours like it claimed, and then threw her dress in the dryer with a dryer sheet for ten minutes while she tried to wipe all the sweat she had collected from the hot, humid air that had caused her to become a sticky mess. She tied most of her hair back into a small bun before rushing back to the dryer to make sure she wasn't ruining her dress and then checking the time.

Time to move her butt.

It was a cab ride there, but he had given her the address to Saito Electric, and she walked up to the door with a thin light blue blazer, a small dark brown purse, and her fastest pace before moving to a more general gait as she actually entered the doors- no need to let everyone around her know how frazzled she really was.

The lobby had a list on the wall for all departments, but she had managed to forget which one he belonged to. Instead, she ambled toward the building secretary, a short balding man who appeared to be in his late fifties.

"I'm looking for Samezuka Ichiro?" she asked after short 'Hello's were exchanged. "My name is Higurashi Kagome."

The man checked his screen, then blinked in surprise. "It says that I am to have someone escort you to Samezuka-san?"

She began to fiddle with her hands against her purse strap and worry her lower lip. "I was just told to meet him-"

"Nonsense!" The man stood, proving to possibly be shorter than Kagome herself. He placed a sign on the desk that read 'Will return soon' and began to walk towards the elevators at the far end of the lobby opposite the doors. "Samezuka-san is a very busy man. How did you manage to meet, if I might ask?" He fished through his pockets as they entered through the doors to the lift, pulling out a key card and scanning it against an area below the floor numbers before pressing the third from the top.

"Well, I was at the bookstore yesterday," she began, feeling the upward motion as they rose and watching the lights for the floors turn on and off with an accompanying ding. "and I accidentally stepped on him. But he insisted we get coffee for some reason and we had this really great talk and- oh!" The motion had stopped, and Kagome had suddenly felt silly for having her mouth begin to run like that.

The man chuckled. " I hope it works out, Higurashi-san." He gestured to the opening doors. "This is your stop."

Kagome smiled at him, then stepped through the entryway and into a large, spacious room with a long wooden table and many chairs. She recognized Ichiro instantly, even though it was only the top half of his hair that had been pulled back.

The other man had black hair in a shorter, layered style, although the bangs seemed to almost completely cover his eyes.

They both looked up from standing over paperwork as she opened her mouth in greeting, but immediately froze as she stared at dark brown eyes, wide with surprise and recognition underneath a curtain of black.

"Kagome?"

She never thought she would hear that voice again. She figured the owner of that voice was probably dead, and only lived in her memories. Maybe he was. Maybe she was hallucinating, or he was a reincarnation, or-

"Inuyasha?"

* * *

 **Again, thank you guys for liking this story! I'm actually quite shy when it comes to putting my work out there, so I love when i do something and people enjoy it!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Background

The wide-eyed hanyou stared at her in a suit and tie. A rush of emotions flickered through her, bouncing back and forth between unexplainable joy, absolute confusion, and unshakeable anger. Kagome felt woozy but took a step forward, clutching her purse.

Her heart leaped with joy- he was alive! He was breathing! There were _youkai_ in this era!

Her mind was racing with confusion- there were youkai in this era? Inuyasha in this era? So for what fathomable reason was sheleft alone and pregnant when she returned from the well and was stuck in her time forever?

Her hands shook in anger, the knuckles beginning to turn white as she sot something besides the handle of her purse to grip onto.

It was _500 years later_!

"Inuyasha?" Kagome repeated the same question, but with heated blood and purifying power surging through her veins this time. She felt herself smile, and saw his face pale. Her chest was tight and a headache began to form as she opened her mouth.

"Sit."

Ichiro watched as his uncle flinched noticeably, as if waiting to take a hard punch he could never stop.

"Dammit Kagome!" The oldest yelled, looking up warily after glancing around;seeing no damage had actually been done to anything but his ego. "The fuck was that for?" He sat down behind the table as if to create some shield between them, then massaged the back of his neck with one hand in an attempt to rid the phantom pain and pushing a rolling chair at her with another in offering. "Why do you-"

She cut him off when the flood of emotions continued to ping pong around her brain. "Where have you been?! You were here the whole time and no one tried to talk to me?! I used to pray that you or Shippo or-"

"Shippo?" Samezuka interrupted. His voice was quiet and tight, and his brown eyes held a strange glow. It was if something had sparked within him; labeled him as a child among the other two, reminding Kagome of both her son and the young fox kitsune that the younger man had just mentioned.

Inuyasha sighed from his vantage point behind solid oak, loosening his tie and slipping it off his collar. A wave of youki hit Kagome as she watched his form change into a more angular version of what she remembered. His shoulders had broadened and he had grown noticeably taller, and that white hair she was so fond of still sat on his head, but stayed the length it was when she met his disguised self. a pair of pointed ears twitched, then lifted from under his hair, and he had the audacity to throw her a sheepish grin and opening his arms toward her. "I can explain it all but for now, please come here. I haven't see you in centuries."

All her feelings left her as she ran to him, her brain replacing everything with a remorseful undertone that coursed through her as she held tight to her hanyou.

A cough sounded behind them, and Inuyasha grinned, leaning toward Kagome's ear. "Don't date him."

She felt her face heat as she looked between the two. "Samezuka-san-"

"-Is Shippo's son."

* * *

Inuyasha's apartment resided a floor above the conference room he worked in. It wasn't the penthouse suite, but it was definitely luxury, with two floors and an open space that made it seem like a older bachelor's place in a movie more than a 600 year old half-youkai's Executive CEO suite. Kagome blushed. Samezuka and Inuyasha were higher-ups at Saito Electric, a company that helped design and manufacture parts for televisions, video game consoles, and computers. She would have never guessed any youkai would have had these leadership positions, formulating her own ideas about how they would have blended into society before she pessimistically turned to the "all my friends are dead" option.

White walls gave a more modern feeling while the stairs and tapestries around pronounced a more nostalgic feeling, as if attempting (and succeeding) in blending past and present. Her hand slunk to her face as she sat on a couch in the living room, attempting to put everything together bit by bit, which was helpful with one less person in their entourage than earlier. Samezuka (Ichiro-kun? It seemed more that she was an old family friend or aunt to Shippo's kids than anything after it had been explained) left confused, told to relate everything to his father by the Executive CEO himself.

Inuyasha joined her, setting a bottle of brandy and two cups on the table before filling them and sitting down with a cup in his own hand.

"So you moved?" he asked casually, draping a hand over the back of the lengthened seat.

She sighed. Was this an attempt at small talk? Her hand dropped and she lifted her face, turning to see a slightly older Inuyasha, wearing a half buttoned white dress shirt and slacks. His eyes radiated an intensity that told her this wasn't intended to be a quick catch-up, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to say anything more than the basics.

"It was this late bout of teenage angst, I guess," she replied, grabbing a hold of her cup and taking a small sip, which she tried to hold in her disgusted face at. Her heart was heavy as the memories flooded back, like it couldn't figure out if it should slow down or speed up. "I lost a lot of my friends, and even though I had good grades by the end of high school despite the whole time-traveling thing, I couldn't narrow down my wants in life. By the time I chose a school to go to, it was because I figured I liked traveling and being away from all..." She gestured to the large, open windows that revealed a city preparing for the nightly entertainment. "This." She fiddled with her thumbs, then began inspecting her fingernails for dirt. "Sapporo is so urbanized, and eventually I found a university in the United States after a teacher I had saw my English scores and heard my whining. So I got in, took an intensive English course the Summer before, then moved and have lived there ever since. I'm even looking into citizenship there."

She had left things out, of course. She dragged a one-year-old across the ocean with her, sought daycare assistance for him while she attended classes, saved money to buy a junky truck for herself so she could move out to a farm where her son would literally breathe easier, etc. It was stressful, but she mostly did it so that Hiroshi would have the easiest childhood she could provide him, thinking that his father's race had died out somehow within the centuries between his conception and birth.

"So, I'm going to be honest with you," her friend began, downing his glass and pouring another. "We all knew you moved away. We hadn't seen the shrine in thirty years after we met a younger version of your grandpa when we went to visit once, and we realized we really didn't know what time you were were, exactly. So we just... waited." He took another sip of his drink, leaning his head back a little. "We figured it had been long enough, so Shippo showed up with a whole scholarship opportunity cover since we though you were probably in high school by the time." He scratched the back of his head, looking away. "Your grandpa told him you didn't even live in the country anymore." He scoffed. "Pissed Sesshoumaru off pretty bad."

Kagome's hand twitched at the youkai's name. She willed it to stay put, trying not to touch the mark on her shoulder left there from the last time he saw her. "Why?" Did her voice sound even enough?

Inuyasha rolled is eyes. "Well, we actually did set aside a large amount of money for you over the years. Sesshoumaru controls it, because he was once a for hire accountant for all the youkai." Another drink. "You probably wouldn't have used a fraction of it."

She mulled that over, thinking that no she probably would have used more- diapers, baby clothes, and child care were expensive on top of rent and groceries. She furrowed her brows, which her friend sat up at, taking his arm off the back of the couch and folding it in his lap.

"Sesshoumaru didn't say anything?"

She felt confusion continue to mar her face. "No. Why would he?"

"You smell like him." The tone he used was blatant, as though it was clear as day. "I was tryinng to figure out how you met Ichiro, but with the small amount of his scent on you, I figured that Sesshoumaru introduced you. the runt's runt didn't give me details, so it seemed kind of obvious..." His face took on a sheepish look to it. "But then you did seem so surprised to see me, now that I think about it."

Kagome's eyes began to water. He was right. The scent was there, even to her at times. She found that her reiki could be used to mask it, but when her emotions went haywire, Sesshoumaru's scent seemed to envelop her.

The thick smell of a forest after a long rain and fresh soil covered both herself and her son.

"Kagome?"

She looked up, feeling tears that she had fought against fall from her eyes.

"So he doesn't know I'm here?" Was this a relief to her, or did she want him to know? She reached up to wipe the tears, but they just kept falling. An arm gripped her shoulders in response, pulling it into a chest with a familiar smell but an unfamiliar firmness. She cried harder. "It's not like I knew any of you were alive. I thought you were dead! I would have told him if I'd known- really! I wouldn't have kept it a secret."She felt herself begin to babble, and tried to stop it through physical touch. She hugged her once upon a time companion and sought comfort from her emotions and her mouth.

Small circles were be rubbed into her back. "Shh... It's alright. Take deep breaths and tell me what's wrong."

When did he grow up so much? He was quickly becoming a mentor figure instead of a brash brat from the Sengoku Jidai.

She cried harder. "I have a son."

The hand stopped for a moment before quickly switching to a kneading motion with the palm. "Oh Kagome, " he whispered.

* * *

 **To anyone that saw this chapter before- I totally messed up and erased it, then had to rewrite it. Sorry!**


	5. Chapter 4 - On Ground

Kagome woke up to sunlight flitting across her face, and her eyelids blinked rapidly as she tried to perceive where it was coming from. The answer, of course, came in the form of a large window, with blinds slowly being dragged to the right, casting further light onto her. She sat up in indignation.

"Hiro-" she cut herself off at the site of the Tokyo cityscape. Oh yeah. This was Inuyasha's place.

"Wake up, wench. It's time to go home." The voice was loud enough that even through the fog of sleep she was ready to punch him. She glanced at its owner, who wore a smirk that was slowly transforming into a grin. "Looks like you haven't lost your bed-head since I last saw you."

She began running her fingers through her hair. "And it looks like you didn't stop being a jerk." She stuck her tongue out at him, hearing his laughter, and she couldn't help smiling. Her morning person attitude had always been forced, and when she realized there was no kid was around, she would stop having it altogether.

She froze. " _Oh no_."

Inuyasha blinked. "What's up?"

"Hiroshi!" She leaped up, throwing off the blanket that had been placed on her after she crashed post-tears. "I told him I would be home last night, and I'm not-"

"Kagome." A hand was placed on her shoulder and she was spun to face a pair of golden eyes, a little higher than she remembered. He _had_ grown. "I called your mom after you conked out. She said it was nothing, and that we should just come over before nine for breakfast."

"Called my mom?" she asked, voice strained. "I'm talking about my _kid_ , Inuyasha, not my pet dog or my roommate!"

His eyes softened. "You think I haven't had to deal with kids before?" They widened into concern as he sniffed the air. He turned her back around, steering her down a hallway and toward the bathroom. "There's this cool invention called a shower. I think you should try using it. Plus the world's also introduced another neat thing called toothpaste. You might find some to on the drawer on the right." He pushed her down the hall as he said this, shoving her into the washroom and closing the door behind her.

"Like you have any room to talk," She huffed from behind the wooden entry.

* * *

Inuyasha's car was a normal Mitsubishi- far from the ideal rich man's designer sports car. He switched on the radio, and a soft voice leaked out of the speakers, a ballad surrounding them as they drove in silence toward the shrine.

"If you knew I left, why didn't you come find me?" she finally asked, looking to her right at the now black-haired driver. "You said Shippo showed up, and yet you guys didn't even call me? Didn't you ask my mom how to contact me? I mean, money would've been pretty nice at the time."

"Like I said earlier," the dog youkai explained, pulling up next to the shrine. "I've got this pain in my ass of a brother and he's the one that was in control of the money. When Shippo told him that you weren't even in the country anymore, he threw a huge bitch fit and said something along the lines of, 'if she wants to continue running, that's fine with me.'" He huffed. "That guy's become more emotional over the years, and not in a good way."

She closed her eyes. "What a _prick_."

The car became silent for a moment, before Inuyasha began laughing. He stepped out of the car and Kagome followed suit. "What?" she asked as they started to ascend the stairs.

The man wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she felt his bare arm uncovered by his tee shirt brush against her neck, giving her this need to lean in further to him. In the time she had left Japan, she had begun to crave the touch of others to a point where it was almost unbearable at times.

"Where'd you pick up that word?" he asked as he neared the top. "That mouth's a little too filthy for a miko."

She elbowed him and he backed off, both verbally and physically, the latter an unintentional side effect that she instantly regretted. "Whatever," she responded, trying to get in the last word. "Lik that makes any difference these days."

"Mom!" a voice sounded from in front of her as she reached the top step, and she realized it made a huge difference. The reiki in the necklace had faded!

Hiroshi ran at her, striped cheeks and silver hair in pajamas made up of shorts and a Pikachu shirt run at her.

Inuyasha snorted, and the boy stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air. His pointed, elfin ears twitched. The older hanyou stood his ground, eyeing the boy in a manner of thinly veiled curiosity for a few moments before turning to his friend. "Y'know I'm gonna have to tell him," he let out with a sigh.

* * *

 **So, this is my short intermittent chapter. Also, yes, the ending may have been inspired from a certain Disney movie.**

 **Also also, I got the question of why Sesshoumaru didn't go looking for Kagome- the answer is coming...soon...ish?**


	6. Chapter 5 - Food

Inuyasha would have been considered Hiroshi's uncle regardless of blood relation. Kagome had decided this years ago, when she was five months pregnant and reading an in a parenting magazine while waiting in the office of the OB/GYN. As the enhanced smells of the clinic had invaded her nose, causing her to begin burping bile, she had secretly wished that her friend would have helped her, had he known; that he would be sitting next to her, holding her hand after she chose to keep the product of her first and only time.

Instead it was a sunny, Wednesday morning in August when he completely understood the situation. He glanced back and forth between his old friend and the product of his brother.

"Hiroshi, where is your necklace?" She asked, kneeling slightly so she could reach his height. As the boy fished through his pajama pockets and handed it over, she made eye contact with the man who was currently digesting everything, mulling over why his brother had not known and how he could receive this information without throwing the largest bitch fit the world had every seen. "You should take off whatever's holding that look together," the woman suggested.

Inuyasha stared at her for another long moment, trying to make sense of her words before his face relaxed and he shrugged. The feeling of this boy's youki was incredible, as untapped as Kagome's reiki all those years ago- but something about it was off. It wasn't intimidating, but rather calming. With that he sat on the ground, untying his shoes and slipping off his socks. "It's not like your mom's ever really seen me much with stuff on my feet anyway." As the last sock came off, the boy took a step toward his mother, the feeling of the man's aura washing over him.

There was a long moment of silence before-

"You have ears on top of your head." Hiroshi stepped toward Inuyasha hesitantly, noticing the similar hair and eye color manifested in the male before him. "What are you? I know you're not my dad, but you look like me."

"That's pretty observant, kid." His ears twitched a moment, and both the parent and the child stared in awe at them, wanting to touch. "We should probably move this inside. It sounds like you may get some visitors to the shrine." He stood, picking up shoes and socks while walking next to the girl he had considered family and the nephew he now realized he had.

* * *

Kagome sat at the table as a nervous wreck. Her son and both his uncles inhaled the food in front of them, and she could barely look at hers. Her stomach churned with anxiety as she began inventing ways Inuyasha would tell Sesshoumaru before her.

Now that she realized the father of her child was _living_ , there was no way she could morally withhold this information.

A buzz from across the table interrupted her, and she peered at the sight of her friend checking his phone. He frowned, eyes flitting slightly higher on the screen, then making contact with Kagome.

She froze, then tried to communicate silently for all she was worth to give her time.

He smirked, and she wondered if he understood. When his eyebrows began to wiggle suggestively, she _really_ wondered.

"Excuse me, Ms. Higurashi," he smiled charmingly, standing up. "May I borrow your daughter for a second?"

Her mother appeared startled and a slight blush dusted her cheeks. "I don't see why not."

He motioned to the younger woman, and she followed him around the corner and up the stairs to the upstairs hallway. Surprisingly, he was the first to speak. "I told him already."

Her eyes blazed instantly. "Inuyasha, why did you-"

He put a finger to her lips in a gentle but almost condescending manner. "No, you don't understand. I just told him about _you_. I'm giving you a 24 hour notice before I tell him amour my nephew." He leaned in, closer than before. "Would you like to _meet_ Sesshoumaru today?"

She was backed into a corner. If she said no, she would probably have an angry youkai show up at her family's shrine demanding justice and her imminent death. If she told him herself, she would probably just die instantly. Sesshoumaru was not known for his forgiving ways, but he was known for holding onto grudges for far too long. Her mouth, however, made the call before she could.

"Fine."

His eyebrows lifted, and he pulled back slightly as a smile spread across his face. "We should leave soon, then. He told me last minute about a reservation he has at a restaurant. You'll be going in my place."

She froze.

* * *

 **Thank you for all those that are sticking with this story! It's been a rough couple of days, so I'm sorry this all I have right now.**

 **But you guys are really sweet and I wanted to at least get an update in tonight.**


	7. Chapter 6 - Anxiety

Kagome stepped out of the car as soon as it stopped in attempt to physically escape the feeling of anxiety that had clouded it the whole way there. It wasn't as though she hadn't gone over this situation happening-presumably earlier in life. However, as the years continued, she grew less and less fanciful and more and more pessimistic that indeed, everyone she had known had died and that was the reason she was unable to find in any history book or legend. However, the truth hit her that all these youkai had been suppressing their youki, and she was back to square one as her old day dreams, or rather fears, flew back to her mind.

" _Hey, I just want to tell you that you impregnated me in the Feudal Era..."_

" _Don't slice off my head from that awkward one night stand yet, because do I have a surprise for you!"_

More and more flew to her head, but they always ended in anger and either loss of limb or life.

The door closed behind her, and she watched in horror as the window rolled down while the car had shifted into reverse. A voice called out from inside. "It's the Italian place on the corner! Have fun!" The vehicle pulled forward and rolled away, down the street as if it had never stopped.

Bastard.

She took a deep breath, and as she smoothed out her light blue dress, staring at the ground, she realized she began shaking. She wanted to run. She still could run. Another breath was inhaled.

No more running.

One step forward and she began regulating her breathing, taking in a slow breath every other step. She could do this. She continued to the end of the block, the finely decorated entrance on the corner a dark wood gilded in some metal that managed to give off a gold quality. The outside was warm enough that she hadn't bothered with a shawl or jacket for her shoulders, but stepping inside she realized that she was wrong as goosebumps immediately raised upon her skin. Her eyes scanned the waiting room in the front, full of frustrated businessmen and women in suits who hadn't made a reservation.

She walked to the front, immediately wondering what to say. Was his name even Sesshoumaru?

"Hello, miss," the host greeted. "Do you have a reservation?"

She nodded by default. "Samezuka?" That was Ichiro's surname, wasn't it? She felt like all of her coherent thoughts had been pulled out of her head and replaced with an intense fear of dread.

The hostess frowned as she checked through the computer. "I'm sorry, madam-"

"Kagome."

The two women to see a tall man with neatly trimmed black hair, close to his head but long enough to run one's fingers through. He wore a black suit and white dress shirt underneath, with a red tie to coordinate it together. His eyes bored into hers from beneath long bangs split down the middle. He turned to the restaurant's employee, who stared at him with dumbfounded awe. "She is with me." His voice was low and cool, and Kagome yearned to take off once again, but instead, after a round of nods from the worker, followed in silence like a child about to be reprimanded.

And in some ways, she was.

They sat at the table, he pulling her chair out for her and then signaling the waiter for another menu. She let out a breath as she gazed at the crowded lunch rush.

At least he couldn't kill her in public.

"You cut your hair," she stated in attempt to make conversation light.

"It was necessary," he responded, staring at the menu. "You have as well."

"I wanted a change." She began to fidget, staring at the menu before her as if it was written in a language she couldn't comprehend.

He lifted his eyes and she coaught this. "You have met Inuyasha and Ichiro already."

She nodded. "Apparently Inuyasha is his uncle?"

He nodded in return. "He is the kit's oldest'"

A silence passed as it clicked. "Shippo has a son?"

"And five daughters," the youkai amended. "The kit is almost 600. You should expect more than that."

She smiled apprehensively. "Something did seem familiar about him."

His gaze continued, unwavering, upon her person. She almost cried out her joy as the waiter came by to take their order, and she picked the first thing she saw.

She heard Sesshoumaru give his order and focused on trying to slow her heart. As the waiter left, he continued his eye contact. "You are anxious."

She looked over at a group of suits having a lunch conference at a long table. "Well, we didn't necessarily part on the best of terms, and it's been hundreds of years you and eight for me."

"So you are anxious because you must face me."

She looked at him, at his fake brown eyes. "Why wouldn't I be? I mean, I'm basically meeting a one night stand I had when I was sixteen. I'm not even the same person, but I'm afraid I'm going to be judged as her."

"It is not as if you stopped running from there on. You moved across the ocean. Was it that the possibility of seeing me scared you so?" His mouth twitched into a small smirk.

She frowned, attempting to hold back a glare. "It is not as if you looked too closely into what was happening. If you had bothered to wonder why I had moved, it's because I was with someone."

He snorted, and she shot him a pair of narrowed eyes.

"What?"

"Impossible." His eyes glinted with amusement, as if he had caught her in a lie. Her story wasn't necessarily untrue, although he may have caught on that she was holding something back.

"Why would that be impossible?" She asked, crossing her arms in defiance.

His face flitted between anger and amusement briefly before settling again into stoicism. "Because we are mated."

"Excuse me?!" she asked in complete shock.


	8. Chapter 7 - Really?

His face hadn't given off any recognition that the subject was of concern. His mouth barely moved, even when speaking those words aloud, and the only sign to any outsiders that the conversation was tense was Kagome's posture, with hands shaking on her lap, closing into fists periodically as the silence grew between them.

Which is the exact moment that the waiter began serving them food and drinks. He was there and gone as quickly as one could be, obviously sensing the displeasure of the female, who stared at her shrimp scampi in the heavily darkened room as she contemplated how close she could get when she decided to throttle the man before her.

"You're... upset because we're... mated... and I ran away, right?" How did she even get those words out correctly? She would need to pat herself on the back when she got home.

"Had you been in my place, would you not be?" He asked, unrolling the napkin that held the silverware, placing it on his lap and procuring a fork and knife for whatever chicken based meal he had before him.

She continued staring at the shrimp that sat in front of her. "Would I..." The words came out with no thought behind them. She sighed, trying to wrap her head around everything before giving up and letting her mouth run as her eyes shot up to meet his. "If you're so upset, then get unmated. What's wrong? Does being attached to someone mean you haven't got a decent lay in awhile?"

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her. "Mating is not something that is undone. It is rare, and the mark on your shoulder is something my own father had not bestowed to anyone. It is the joining of selves, both spiritually and physically. We are connected in life and death. That mark will always insure other males will stay away, for it carries my scent and small traces of youki. As your mark would do for me if I did not mask my scent periodically."

She blanched. She thought it was some dumb inuyoukai thing, when in the heat of the moment he bit into her. She had done the same, wondering if perhaps he was simply quieting himself and using his skin to cover up her own noises.

"But... why?" That was all she could get out- the only words that would exit her lips.

He was still slicing his chicken, creating smaller and smaller pieces. "You are powerful, and your potential at the time was one of the most astounding I had seen. I yearned to cultivate it, and have you by my side throughout."

"I was going to be used to help you gain power," she stated, still entranced with the way her food looked, and wondering how soon she could get a to-go box.

He nodded. "It was not simply for my own benefit. My intention was to create a physical bond to show that humans and youkai could cooperate. You were a prime candidate, not only for your lack of ability to notice the differences between the the two species, but also for the inordinate amount of reiki that flows through you. Inuyasha had told me before the final battle with the spider hanyou that he could not sense any youkai in your time, and I feared that he may have been correct. I now realize I should have gone with my baser instincts and called him a fool."

She fought the urge to burst into tears, now that she simply knew she was a puppet, but instead thought of her son, of one of the greatest struggles and most wonderful things to come from the feudal era, and she realized something.

"You set aside money for me." It was a statement, and his eyebrows rose although he attempted to hide his complete surprise.

He nodded instead. "I have enough funds to get you through college, although I have been told you have accomplished that on your own."

She nodded. "It takes three thousand American dollars for a round-trip flight to Tokyo in August," she explained. "I would at least like that amount from you."

She had planned it out immediately. She was leaving before Inuyasha ever got word to his brother of Hiroshi's existence. No son of hers would get to know the dick he was shot out of. There were far _nicer_ male role models, and if he really wanted to meet his father she would allow him to when he was of legal age. Until then, she would move back to America and work to her heart's desire.

Sesshoumaru nodded, dropping an eyebrow raised in skepticism. "I can arrange that."

She let out a snort. "I'm sure you can, but I'd like it in cash. Have Inuyasha drop it off tonight, because I leave tomorrow." She stood. "And also, _fuck you_." She spat out the last of it in perfect English, turning around before remembering something and turning back around. " _You're one sick prick, you know that? You think the world's your fucking oyster, but it isn't, Sesshomaru_ -sama." She left the honorific on, feeling like she had disgraced him enough as her words had left other tables silent as well.

Then she walked out the door.

She had paid for a cab ride at the shrine, not expecting to have gone anywhere today and so thanking the heavens for finding money in her small clutch bag from when she was seventeen.

"Hey."

She jumped as her body swerved to meet Inuyasha, who sat in one of the limbs of Goshinboku. "Why are you still here?!" She barked out. None of her anger had faded. She felt used, and she needed to pack.

He jumped down, walking up to her. "I take it that things didn't go well." He moved to put a hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it away.

"I called him a prick and left," she stated, staring off into the distance, her eyes narrowed in anger also beginning to sell with water. "You don't get to tell him about my son. He's a jackass and he doesn't get to know."

"Kagome." The hanyou's voice was quiet, trying to soothe her. "What did he say?"

And so, they sat on the bench underneath the large tree that had been with each of them before they even knew each other. Her son had stepped outside the front door some time after, waking up from a nap and smelling his mother, he ran to her, only to see his uncle holding her, cross legged on the ground while the scent of tears filled the air, coming from the curled up ball of Kagome that lay within his lap, pressed against his chest.

Inuyasha motioned for his nephew to come closer, standing while he did so and never letting go of his now sleeping friend.

"Your mom's had a hard day," he reasoned with the boy. "She met someone she really doesn't like."

"My dad," Hiroshi responded. "I can smell him."

The man nodded. "We'll talk about him when she wakes up."

 **It has been the worst week in years for me, so I'm sorry if that came out as rushed or too harsh, but I very much did (although I attempted not to) channel my anger into this chapter. Sorry if it clashes.**

 **And thank you so much, you guys! Your reviews are all really sweet and definitely made my day every time I saw one!**


	9. Chapter 8 - What It Means

Sesshoumaru was every four letter word Kagome could think of. She realized this as soon as she woke up alone in her bed, with the sunset pouring in through her window and a sore throat itching against her vocal chords. She held onto that thought as a black haired Inuyasha dragged her out of bed and hoisted her onto her feet, and almost missed what the hanyou said. Her ears finally seemed to unclog themselves as she stared blankly at him.

"-mated, and that's a huge thing, but there's more to it than whatever he said because-"

Her ears clogged again as she tuned him out again and her eyelids felt heavy. She just wanted to cry and drink some water so she could cry more. She wanted to take her son and fly back to her small house and tend to her garden. She wanted to be able to feel soil under her fingers and-

"Kagome, please, just come with me. I'll be there the whole time. I just want to help you, and show you that he's holding back and needs to tell you-"

She blinked, eyes widening. Was he still talking? She watched the movement of his lips, and the furrow of his brow as he leaned over, wrapping his arms around her.

"-do it myself, then!"

And with that, she felt the whoosh of air as she was almost floating for a moment before crashing into Inuyasha's shoulder. She attempted to knee him, but his torso was too long, so she settled for using the arm that hadn't become trapped between her chest and his to beat on his back. She grunted and shook the lower half of her body as well as she could, but his grip was strong, and soon she realized they had already left the room and were heading out the front door.

"I explained everything, Ms. Higurashi! We're leaving now!" he smiled, bowing to the older woman, then turned so Kagome could see a clear view of both her mother.

"Mom!" She called out. "Come on, mom!" She reached out with her free hand, temporarily relieving Inuyasha of pain and instead enforcing her own.

"Don't worry, honey. I sent Souta and Hiroshi to a movie, and they should be back by the time you are." She smiled hesitantly. "I don't want another child growing up not getting to know their father."

Her saddened eyes were what stopped Kagome from screaming out 'But he's an asshole!' Instead she went limp, trying to force the growing tightness in her chest to go away. She took deep breaths and soon she heard the opening of a door before feeling herself moved to a car seat.

"I already told you he doesn't have the right to know about Hiroshi," she said, putting the seatbelt in place and crossing her arms as she watched him maneuver the car backwards and then switch to drive before pulling out onto the road.

"Y'know, Kagome, if what he said was the whole picture, I'd completely agree. But after you cried yourself to sleep, I called the bastard and confronted him. He told me you were leaving, and if memory serves me correctly, you've only been here what, not even four days? And your mom told me you were here all month. You're running away and you'll never get to find out the full truth until it's too late, just like your son will never know his father until he doesn't need him anymore." He pulled up to a red light, watching pedestrians pass by, all brightly colored by summer themed outfits. "You and I both know what it's like not growing up with a father, and you really want to do this to your own kid? If my old man was twice as uncaring as Sesshomaru, I'd still have liked to be able to ask him questions. I'd have liked to see the face that I got mine from. This pack doesn't do broken families; not anymore."

She felt her eyes water and her throat- her already very scratch throat- clench. He was right, and as they continued the road toward what she now realized was Saito Electric, she was sniffling, trying her best to wipe her tears away as she stepped out of the car, following Inuyasha through a throng of concerned employees standing around the lobby. She heard the ding of the elevator, and saw the opening and closing of the doors, and felt the rise of the metal box before it stopped completely, the process repeating before they stepped out and into his apartment, a huge wave of youki washing over her like waves on the beach.

The youkai it was attached to, however, was far from comforting. He sat in an armchair with the newspaper in hand, looking up and glaring at his brother. "You said it was to be only us."

"So I lied to you. Got you here, didn't I?" the younger replied with a shrug, sitting on the couch and forcing Kagome to follow suit. She did, hesitantly, remembering that this was the same one she had woken up on just this morning. It occurred to her then that it was still the same day.

Silence stretched over the three before Sesshoumaru broke it, which Kagome felt almost out of character. "Why is the miko here?" Ah, not speaking directly to her. There was the jackass behavior she knew was missing.

Inuyasha leaned forward, trying to make eye contact with both of them, but receiving refusal on both ends. He sighed. "Your lunch went horribly- I get that. But both of you omitted something huge from what you said to each other, and if neither of you say it now, them I'm gonna let it out."

A growl erupted from Sesshoumaru's throat, and Inuyasha looked eager, right hand twitching for what Kagome assumed was Tetsusaiga. A moment of staring passed before Inuyasha turned to Kagome.

"You can't mate someone if there isn't something there," he stated, standing and gaining a more suitable position to defend from in case there was more than an empty threat behind the noise his brother had previously made.

It took less than a second to see that there was, and Kagome also stood, prepared to do... something as she watched the younger sibling attempt to throw the older sibling off of him. "Stop it!" she yelled instead. "Sesshoumaru, stop!"

And surprisingly, he did. The room went silent again as the daiyoukai froze, eyes narrowing not simply at the command, but also at the smirk underneath golden eyes currently glinting at him.

"Do you know why most youkai don't truly mate, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked from underneath Sesshoumaru.

"...No." An honest answer, although hesitant.

Sesshoumaru continued to glare as the explanation was given. He made no move forward or back. "Mates are equals, and respect each other. When they mate, it is not without love, because a true mating is never created out of simply lust. It has to have something, even a spark, or it's just kinky sex." Another growl was given in warning. "Although I'm sure now that I got that out there, the rest will be explained. All I'm saying is that this bastard loves you, Kagome- Even if it's just a little, and buried somewhere deep in his withered heart."

His head turned from his friend to the man on top of him, whose own eyes were reddening, irises a deep green that slowly was turning into blue as he struggled to maintain his control- something that had slipped more and more over the years. "And you have a kid."

Kagome began regretting saying anything and not simply allowing Sesshoumaru to tear out Inuyasha's throat.

* * *

 **I actually based Kagome's mom partly off of a less... emotional(?) form of my own mother. She's very much about keeping families whole no matter what.**

 **Anyway, so this came out a little later than expected, and before anyone says anything about Inuyasha- he's got a background story that hasn't been presented yet.**


	10. Chapter 9 - Well, That Happened

He advanced toward her, and she knew that no matter how she moved, she would never be able to escape him. She could feel his breath on her face as he searched her eyes for... something.

There was the sound of the elevator door opening and closing, and Kagome knew that she had been abandoned. Her heart was beating so hard she wondered how it was still inside of her and she closed her eyes, trying once again to breathe in and out.

A clawed hand lifted her chin up, and her eyelids flew open to face piercing gold. There was a hurt look to them that she tried to ignore.

"You held this back from me?" he asked, and she looked away. "Tell me the truth."

"I didn't know where you were," she answered, and her eyes widened as they stared at where the wall met carpet. That came out unexpectedly. Her mouth opened again, although she fought to close it. "I thought that you wouldn't want to see me, or that you were dead. No one was there when I was pregnant, or even when Hiroshi was born. I thought you wouldn't want an illegitimate son, even if you did know about him." Tears were stinging her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. When her lips moved again, they were of her own free will, and her eyes met his. "Now you show up, and treat me like gum on your shoe, and what am I supposed to think? 'Oh, he's obviously father material'?"

The hand on her chin loosened before falling away. "I didn't approach you because I felt you needed space," he said, eyes locked onto hers. "You ran after our encounter." Well, that was one way to put it. Her clothes had been haphazardly secured and were falling off by the time she had climbed out from the well from sprinting through the woods like a hunted animal. "Yet when I felt that enough time had passed you were no longer in the country, causing me to rethink your motives and whether or not to come find you myself." Their eye contact broke, and his eyes narrowed.

She blinked at how direct he was. "Sesshoumaru-"

And he was back to glaring at her, as if saying his name was the worst offense she could commit. "My intent was not simply to mate you for power, Kagome. What Inuyasha said is true. I can only see you as my equal, no matter how hard I try not to." He took her shaking hand and his eyes softened as he led her to the couch, pushing her gently so that she would sit.

She smelled his scent as his warm hand still held hers- a scent that covered her son and brought her back to the feudal era every time she inhaled it. She stared at him, eyes wide and confusion evident in her body language as he let go, walking towards a closet and pulling out a coat. "I will call my brother and tell him to drive you home. He has the money for you in his pocket, last I noticed." He stuck his arms through the sleeves and his eyes swept the room before spotting something across the room. He stepped towards the island in the kitchen.

Kagome tried to even her breathing again. She could do this.

"Sesshoumaru, before you go-" She forced a smile. How was she able to keep her voice this even? He turned to her, holding a watch and staring at her with brown eyes beneath black bangs. "Would you like to see pictures?"

* * *

"I expected my son to practice swordplay, not soccer," he commented as he leaned over her shoulder, staring at the pictures on her phone. "How does he manage to look so human?"

She continued flipping through pictures, finding one that would help her. "This," she explained, zooming in on the necklace. "It's a five yen coin I strung up. I infuse my reiki into it. When I first tried it, I thought it might help any human genetics show. He wasn't changing the way Inuyasha does on new moons."

"And you were not scared of purifying him?" he asked, disbelief evident at such a simplistic idea.

She shook her head. "When he was born, I had released so much reiki that any youkai in the room would have been obliterated." She sighed. "They didn't know what to make of his hair, and luckily the markings didn't come in until around six months."

"Markings?" She felt the question more than heard it; soft breath on her ear. How did they get so close?

"He looks far more like you than me. The pointed ears and everything. The only difference is no moon and one stripe per cheek and not two." The words were beginning to string together, and she felt her stomach churn. She'd been wanting this moment for so long and now that she was experiencing it, it was going by too fast. "I don't take pictures of him like that because I'm afraid if my phone was ever stolen someone might find them." Which was true, although she feared she was creating self deprecation within him at the same time.

There was a stretch of silence, and when she looked over her shoulder, he was staring at her.

"What is it?" she asked, wondering if there was something on her face.

He leaned in, closer so that all she could see was him. He opened his mouth, and she could feel his breath on her lips. "You are a good mother," he stated, pulling away.

She felt her face heat up. "Thank you."

He nodded. "I am sorry." He stood, turning once again toward the exit. "For everything. I cannot undo my mistakes, but upon my honor I will do all I can to help you from now on." He began to leave once again.

And once again she called out to him. "Sesshoumaru, wait." He stopped, as if on command, and rounded back toward her. She stood, closing the distance between them. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for awhile now."

His eyebrow quirked up. "And what is that, miko?"

She smiled, tears welling in her eyes. She was emotional, but what she would say she would mean every word of. "Thank you. You gave me Hiroshi, and he's the greatest gift I could possibly ask for." She embraced him then, pulling him into the tightest hug he had received in years.

He stood there, motionless until she let go, head bent over but not enough that he couldn't spot the red tint covering her face. She pulled back a lock of hair and he could see the color had spread to her ears. "Sorry," she mumbled, taking a step back.

He was smiling when she finally dare to look at him. It was soft, and nowhere near as broad as hers, but it reached his eyes. She remembered it from years ago, when he had gazed at her with that same smile from above before kissing her everywhere.

"He wants to know you," she blurted out so she could stop her train of thought. "He's asking about you more and more."

"Will you allow me to know him?" the youkai countered, moving a step closer and once again ridding them of any space between their two bodies.

She tilted her head to look him directly in the eye. "I remember you don't share very well, Sesshoumaru-sama."

His eyes glinted with an emotion she couldn't place. "For you, Kagome, and for our son, I will try."

* * *

 **I was hoping to explain a little about mates in this chapter, but I couldn't think of where to fit it in. So instead, I'll save it for future chapters.**

 **And crap! I didn't mean to write _physical contact_ , but whoomp! There it is! Oops!**

 **Thanks for the reviews, guys. I'm definitely putting them in perspective of this story. Although, I'm surprised you guys are reading this at all. So many of you have favorited and followed it and I expected one or two at the most!  
**

 **Thank you!**


	11. Chapter 10 - Inner Monologue

Kagome threw her beg down once she got to her room. It was too late at night, and she had been away from her son for too long. Moonlight flitted in between the blinds on the window, giving his head an ethereal glow. Experience with the boy's father and uncle had told her it was a family trait.

She laid next to him on the extra bed in her room, curling around him and holding him close to her. The older he got, the larger he became, and the more melancholy she found herself. Kids weren't supposed to get bigger, right?

He turned, snuggling into her, and she smiled, kissing his forehead.

* * *

She had given him directions, not that he needed them. He had brought his brother as a safety net to fall back on, and a mediator for when any arguments arose. And yet, here they stood at the top of the steps to the shrine plaza, the sun blazing onto his scalp and causing his head to warm.

A hand on his shoulder did not quell the nervousness he felt. The nervousness, in fact, grew from the fact that he had become nervous in the first place.

The front door of her house opened, and he felt his heartbeat quicken, as it did when he had seen her the day before.

His mate.

He had given her the mark in the heat of the moment, all control he had was thrown out the window. Centuries of training his mind were put to waste as his youki flowed into her veins, as her reiki burned through his. It felt as though a vast emptiness that he had grown accustomed to had been filled.

When she had disappeared and the well had closed, he had felt the emptiness grow once again. Little by little, the pain subsided. His chest hurt less and less, but the days continued with wallowing within all thoughts of her.

Kagome.

Why did she leave? Was she so horrified of the action?

He immediately felt he knew the answer, but simply wanted to ignore the possibility that their joining would cause her to leave so abruptly.

The longer he dwelled, the more irrational he became. After the establishment of the Meiji era, he sought solitude, coming to the conclusion after seeing the scene of her upset face burned into his mind for centuries, that she would most likely never want to see him again.

He had told no one of what had occurred, and vowed at that point to keep it so. He picked up snippets and facts here and there about her while utilizing them to the best of his abilities.

And so, when 500 years had passed, he attended the shrine periodically in order to literally sniff out when his brother had been present. The smell of nature was strong in the air for days after Inuyasha and Kagome would leave, and he waited until one day, he smelled himself as well.

And tears for weeks on end.

He decided to give her time. Having coped with the event for half a millennium, he found he could wait a little.

So he stopped periodically visiting the shrine. He stopped scenting for Kagome, something he didn't realize had calmed the yearn of his heart for as long, even by just a little. He figured two years would be enough, that she would soon be in college and he could present himself then and apologize for giving her a mark that would ward any possible suitors away. He would offer to remove it, although it was near impossible, and the side effects could be fatal.

But when two years had passed, he couldn't bring himself to do it. His emotions had clouded his judgement repeatedly since her return, and he finally ended up sending her adopted kit in his place.

Which led to a blinding rage that nearly destroyed his apartment when he found out she had moved to another continent.

And yet, when he saw her, his control slipped back into place, and although he felt a physical attraction for the woman, he could govern it better than he had been able to in quite some time.

Until he found out about his child _… their_ child.

Then the feelings broke through his slowly crumbling wall once again- that which he had attempted to rebuild repeatedly over the years.

Now he stood in front of a woman and a young boy, hidden by a layer of the female's miko powers, drowning in a sea of distress and inner turmoil while wearing a look of total stoicism. He stared at the boy, realizing how much he looked like Kagome- even with the sun reflecting black hair and blue eyes which he knew were not truly his.

And as a rush of emotions swept through him, a wave of acceptance did as well.

He would make it through this. He would be a good father. He would help his mate, regardless of whether she wanted to continue as such or not. He would accept the consequences, and he would not turn back.

Ever again.

* * *

 **Wow. Dang. It's been a whole month. Sorry, guys. School and stuff happened.**

 **Also- this chapter probably paints Sesshoumaru in a really emotionally unstable light? I hope? I really wanted that to shine through. Bear with me, but the updates should be a little more frequent again. Sorry bout that!**


	12. Chapter 11 - Pack It Up

She felt her eyebrows raise as the six foot something man squatted to eye level with her son.

"What's your name?" Hiroshi asked, staring at his sire in the same calculating way that Kagome had experienced 500 years ago when she first met the youkai.

"Sesshoumaru." His voice was even and his face reflected the boy's, although surprisingly softer.

"And you're my dad?" he responded skeptically.

An eyebrow lifted. "Can you not smell, pup?"

Kagome felt herself shift from one foot to another and noticed the pair sniff the air, scenting for something. "You're making her nervous," the younger spat out, glaring. He crossed his arms, sticking his chin up, very much like his father in the past.

"Are you positive that it is I?" the elder retorted, standing and peering down at his offspring through narrowed eyes. "You have much to learn."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm here 'cause I heard something about takin' a stroll through the park."

Arms uncrossed at his uncle's words. "The park?"

The hanyou clapped the boy on the back. "Come on, kid! Let's go! There's trees and it's cooler there." He leaned in. "And it's somewhere you can just be yourself." He winked, straightening himself and glancing over the scene before his eyes settled on one person in particular. "Does that sound alright, Kagome?"

She nodded at her mediator, taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Let's go." She could feel the Sesshoumaru side of her son rising to the surface, and if she was honest with herself, that was the least pleasant part off his personality. She had taught him to treat all he met with respect. And for various reasons she was freaking out, with the most apparent being that she really wanted to scold her son but really didn't want to look like a complete bitch in front of the other half of his family.

* * *

The four had gathered together, close to the trees. What had started out as a hot day turned quickly into a hot, humid rain.

"Ugh, there wasn't anything about this in the weather report this morning," Kagome remarked, feeling a heavy drop of rain fall onto her head, hitting her right on the hairline of where her forehead connected to her hair. She turned to Inuyasha. "Did you see this coming at-"

His immediate break of eye contact told her everything. "Inuyasha! I'm wearing a sundress! I'm soaking!"

He shrugged in response. To be fair, none of the pack had dressed for anything other than sun. "I don't see why you're worried. It's not like you have anything we haven't seen before." Which was true, but didn't necessarily need to be said.

She squealed, crossing her arms and glaring, feeling like she was joining the ranks of Hiroshi and Sesshoumaru now. "Why are we even out here? No one's at the park, and we're not close to the vendors."

"That's the point," her friend responded, smirking. "It's safe. No one can see us, and it's neutral territory."

She raised her eyebrows and shifted so that she felt water from the grass slosh over her shoe. She instantly understood what he meant. Why had it not clicked until now? Was it actually safe? It wasn't the easiest thing in the world to protect a child with youkai blood from being discovered, and she didn't want anyone to hurt Hiro. "But what if-"

"I cannot smell anyone near," the oldest male responded, cutting her off. He held out a watch to her- the same one form the day before. "If I am not hidden by this guise, it will be easier to protect you two."

Kagome took the time keeper and looked from it towards a short haired version of the Sesshoumaru she remembered. For a brief moment, her heart lurched unexpectedly, causing her eyes to widen.

"Are you okay, mom?" Hiroshi asked, leaning toward her before following her gaze, where he stopped as well. His eyes narrowed, the emotions on his face walking an edge between fierce and curious. "You're not what I expected."

His mother snapped out of it immediately, both at the comment and the sound of laughter emanating from Inuyasha.

"Higurashi Hiroshi!"

* * *

 **Sorry! School and all that jazz.**

 **Anyway, Imma throw out this sassy little brat. I hope you guys are alright with him!**

 **And once again, thank you to all those that have reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story! You people all continuously make my day, and deserve longer chapters!**


	13. Chapter 12 - What Are Seven Year Olds

Where did it all go wrong? As he looked down at his son, a small, white haired mop covering his head, he felt a surge through his chest. He looked like a young version of his own father; like the Inu no Taisho was laughing down at him from above as he stared into the face of a long dead youkai.

Genetics were a despicable thing.

His offspring had the nerve to insinuate that he was lacking in visual glory, as well. It was almost as if the howling was not cut off after Inuyasha received a scolding worthy of an old woman from the miko.

He scowled, glancing toward the woman who carried all three males' guises.

"If I were in my true form, you would be terrified." Did the boy even know what his true form was? Had Kagome told him that much? His stared down his nose into defiant gold eyes.

His brother snickered behind him. "More like awed. You're just a twenty-five meter tall puppy."

That actually garnered a reaction besides glaring from the youngest male, although not at all what Sesshoumaru wanted to happen. A smirk crept across the face of the disrespectful whelp before him. "You turn into a giant dog?"

His sire quirked an eyebrow, as if to say _what of it_?

"If I hear one more word out of you, Hiroshi, we can go on the next plane home," his mother cut in. She leveled her eyes at him. "This is your father. Treat him with respect." The boy was acting like an insolent teenager, not the boy that was frolicking around Japan since they got there.

"But mom!" Ah, there it was. "Why do I have to? Where has he been this whole time?" There was an underlying sense of hurt when he spoke, and she knelt down, opening her arms.

"You were fine with your Uncle Inuyasha," she pointed out, dragging him to her after he ran her way.

"He's not scary," a muffled whisper answered from the fold of her wet shirt.

Sesshoumaru frowned. He wanted to intimidate the child, not scare him. He simply went off instincts, staying his ground at the challenge that was silently issued by the boy's put-off attitude. He took a step forward, then hesitated. Should he treat the boy as a human child, then?

"I'm sorry I scared you," he said, bending at the knees to match Hiroshi and Kagome. When the boy looked up, with snot dribbling down his nose and wet eyes, he sighed, then offered a half-smile, trying to convey his feelings. "I'm not a human. I couldn't be with your mother for a long time because of it." Well, that and a few other things. Answering a child's questions would help establish trust, and ease any discrepancies. "I'm a youkai, as is my brother and as are you." He glanced at his estranged mate for confirmation that this was working, but she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "That's why I can turn into a… giant dog." True form had a better ring to it, but if this helped, then… "Your uncle and I wanted to take you out today so that you could meet us the way that we really are, or half are." If he kept explaining, the tension would continue to dissipate, but Sesshoumaru had not rambled in decades, not since he had to calm Inuyasha after-

"How tall is twenty-five meters?" the boy asked.

Sesshoumaru blinked, then smiled fully.

* * *

Sesshoumaru's apartment was relatively small and gave a cramped feeling with more than two occupants, but he dismissed it as he dropped the bag of fast food on the table, followed by the two others that Inuyasha carried. He laid out paper towels and plates, dumping fries on one and piling hamburgers on another, while Kagome set drinks down and Hiroshi immediately grabbed at some chicken nuggets that were still in a container.

WacDonald's splurges had never appealed to him, but Inuyasha seemed to find a sort of nostalgia in the food (which he apparently felt today, as he was the one that suggested the fast food restaurant in the first place), and his son… well, he and his mother seemed to chow down instantly. No "itadakimasu" or any acknowledgement, and Inuyasha shook his head, walking over to the television and turning it on.

"You watch anime, kid?"

Kagome rolled her eyes from the table before stopping with a gasp, then clapping her hands. "Itadakimasu!" she practically yelled, with a slight pink to her cheeks. Her hair was still dripping a little, and Sesshoumaru left for a minute, only to return with a towel.

"Thank you," she smiled up at him, then toweled her hair and hung the fabric over the back of her chair to put away when she finished her meal. They ate for a while in silence; a children's anime coming from across the living room to the open dining area.

"So you attended a university in America," Sesshoumaru began, nodding towards the former Shikon Miko. "What degree did you pursue?" He congratulated himself on his patience in abstaining from googling her after he found out she left. Not that it was easy to find her; her name wasn't as uncommon as many people would assume, on top of how her first and last name seemed to be words that product companies found appealing to customers. If he ever saw one more advertisement for Kagome Bamboo again…

"Environmental Sustainability and a degree in history," She answered after swallowing her food. "I interned on a farm and now I live and work on part of it under a grant I received through the Master's program." She paused for a moment. Was there meat in her teeth? "I actually work with my old professor and her husband there. They rent out a Mother-in-law house to me and help babysit Hiroshi when I have to go to any functions." She took another bite, hoping she hadn't stumbled over any of the words. She could feel her legs shaking, like the first time she had met him, five hundred years ago. Did she miss anything? Was he going to ask her more? Was she supposed to respond with- "What do you do?" She almost blurted. Her face began to heat, and she watched his eyes dance with amusement.

"I'm an elementary school teacher."

* * *

 **Better late than never, right? Happy New Year!**


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